American Statesmenby John T. Morse

American Statesmen by John T. MorseReview by: William MacDonaldThe American Historical Review, Vol. 7, No. 4 (Jul., 1902), pp. 792-795Published by: Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Historical AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1834598 .

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792 Reviews of Books

American Statesmen. Edited by JOHN T. MORSE, Jr. (Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Co. I898-1900. 32 VOlS.)

THIS handsome "standard library edition'" is a reissue in uniform style, and with the addition of an index volume, of the well-known "1 American Statesmen " series. Now that the work is published as a whole, Mr. Morse is able to add, what he could not very well have added before, a general preface to the series and special introductions to certain of the volumes. The biographies are further grouped in five periods, those of Franklin, Samuel Adams, Patrick Henry and Washington form- ing the Revolutionary period, those of John Adams, Hamilton, Morris, Jay and Marshall the Constructive period, those of Jefferson, Madison, Gallatin, Monroe, J. Q. Adams and Randolph the period of Jeffersonian Democracy, while the period designated as " Domestic Politics: the Tariff anid Slavery " claims Jackson, Van Buren, Clay, Webster, Calhoun, Ben- ton and Cass, and that of the Civil War Lincoln, Seward, Chase, C. F. Adams, Sumner and Thaddeus Stevens.

In his brief general introduction to the series, the editor under- takes to explain the principle on which his selection has been made, and to illustrate it by brief comment on three or four typical names. The substance of what he has to say in his own defence, and, on the whole, the best characterization of the spirit of the series, is in these sentences:

" It has been the editor's intention to deal with the advancement of the country. When the people have moved steadily along any road, the men who have led them on that road have been selected as subjects. When the people have refused to enter upon a road, or, having entered, have soon turned back from it, the leaders upon such inchoate or aband- oned excursions have for the most part been rejected. Those who have been exponents of ideas and principles which have entered into the prog- ress and have developed in a positive way the history of the nation have been chosen; those who have unfortunately linked themselves with rejected ideas and principles have themselves also been rejected. Calhoun has been made an exception to this rule, for reasons so obvious that they need not be rehearsed " (pp. vii, viii).

It has been the intention to make this edition not only a new edition, but a revised edition as well, and two or three of the volumes have been materially changed in form. With a few exceptions, the remaining volumes show no very important changes beyond those of a literary character, such as a different turn of phrase or a new grouping of paragraphs, though of course only a line for line comparison would enable one to detect minute alterations. The new preface to Tyler's Patrck Henry, for exam- ple, speaks of " minute revision from beginning to end " and " numerous changes both in its substance and in its form," but a somewhat careful comparison of considerable sections of the two editions shows no very large differences, save the occasional use of new material traceable to William Wirt Henry's Patrick Henry and Kate Mason Rowlands's George Mason, and a few additions to the bibliography. Mr. Lodge is able to give a fuller and more modern statement of the Washington pedigree, in



Morse. American Statesmen 793

accordance with the researches of Mr. Henry E. Waters. Mr. Morse's John Adams also stands as originally written, though in his preface the author states that further study has convinced him that the strictures which he has made upon Franklin during the period of the latter's stay in France, especially while Adams was with him, " are unjust in their severity, and give a false idea of the true usefulness of that able diplomatist at that time " ; but the matter is allowed to stand, with this caveat, as " a fair presentation of the view held by John Adams himself, and which was often and vigorously expressed by him."

'Fhe most important changes in the new edition are in the volumes on Monroe, Jackson, Cass and Seward. For the revision of his life of Mon- roe Dr. Gilman has had the help of the calendar of Monroe's correspond- ence in the Department of State and the first volume of Hamilton's writ- ings of Monroe, and from these sources he has been able to add a good deal to the personal representation of Monroe's opinions, besides re-en- forcing many statements of detail. Most of the letters cited refer to Monroe's relations with Jefferson, and emphasize the intimacy between the two statesmen. On pages I77-I79, by way of commenting on Reddaway's discuission of the origin of the Monroe doctrine, Dr. Gil- man says:

" To me this discussion seems more important to the antiquary than to the historian; for if further research should establish beyond question the authorship as that of Adams, the fact will still remain that the Pres- ident and not the secretary of state announced the doctrine. It was his official sanction which gave authority to the phrases, by whomsoever they were written, and lifted them far above the plane of personal opinions. Monroe spoke from the chair of the Chief Executive; and to him statesmen and historians have continuously attributed the doctrine. His official station, at a critical moment, gave to his words authority; and their pro- nounced acceptance by the people of the United States shows how accu- rately they express the sentiments of the people. "

Of further changes in this volume, Professor Jameson's summary of Monroe's annual messages, which formed part of the appendix to the old edition, is here transferred as a chapter to the body of the book, and the bibliography by the same hand adds sections on the application of the Monroe doctrine to the Pan-American conference and the Venezuela- Guiana boundary.

Professor Sumner's Jackson embodies numerous changes in both substance and content. The author has had the use of the Ford collection of letters from Jackson to William B. Lewis, and makes frequent refer- ences to and quotations from them. Running over the pages one notes the addition of a long passage on the political issues between the Federal- ists and the Republicans (pp. 11-13), a new paragraph on Jackson's desire for the governorship of Orleans Territory (pp. 17-I8), and additional matter about the New Orleans pirates (pp. 45-46), the executions at Mobile (pp. 52-53), the Louaillier affair (pp. 53-57), and the "demos krateo" principle (p. 128). Former chapfers 8-ii have been condensed into one, with considerable change of arrangement



794 Reviews of Books

but, on the whole, amplification and improvement of statement. There is also a fuller account of Jackson's life after I837.

Professor McLaughlin's Cass shows a number of changes of form and some important ones of substance. The estimate of Hull is modified, the author " I thinking that the statement did not make sufficient allowance for the difficulties with which he was surrounded, and that it did not sufficiently take into c-onsideration the fact that to some extent he was the victim of an incompetent military administration" (p. vii). The account of Cass's re-election in 1849, when it was clear that Cass " no longer represented as he had done the growing sentiment of the North- west," is somewhat expanded (pp. 265-266), and a note is added (pp. 356-357) in defence of the author's general estimate of Cass's character.

In Mr. Lothrop's Seward a materially different interpretation is given to Seward's famous letter to Lincoln of April i, i86i, than occurs in the first edition. It was in this letter that, after suggesting that the President "demand explanations from Spain and France categorically, at once," a declaration of war to follow if the explanations were not satisfactory, and also "Iseek explanations from Great Britain and Russia, and send. agents into Canada, Mexico, and Central America to rouse a vigorous continental spirit of independence on this continent against European intervention," Seward went on to hint that, if Lincoln was averse to such procedure, he himself would be willing to undertake it. Mr. Lothrop now states, on the authority of Mr. F. W. Seward, that Seward when he wrote the letter "I knew not merely of the revolution in San Domingo . . . but also . . . that France and Spain were actively discussing schemes for invading Mexico and establishing a European protectorate there, also that Great Britain and Russia had been sounded on this subject"; and that he thought promptness and boldness the best means of breaking up the plans before they were matured. As for Seward's " suggestion of his readiness to assume further responsibilities, if called upon to do so," that, in Mr. Lothrop's opinion, "c was simply a declaration of his readiness to be helpful in any way that he could, and was without any selfish or ambitious purpose on his part." The discussion is too long to quote, but the explanation is interesting and important.

The successive volumes of the "American Statesmen" series have been so thoroughly written about as they have appeared that little is left for a reviewer besides noting the chief points of difference between the old edition and the new, and estimating briefly the worth of the series as a whole. That the biographies have taken their place at once among the scanty list of " standard" works on American history, and that in their new form, though sold only by subscription, they will enter upon a new lease of life, probably goes without saying. It -is a sound instinct, if not a completely developed one, that finds in biography the chief interest of history; for history, whatever else its subject-matter may be, does deal pre-eminently with men. Mr. Morse's great undertaking does not, of course, give a complete view of the period it covers, but it probably comes as near to it as any series of biographical studies can. It



Stephen: Life and Letters ofJohn Richard Green 795

would be idle to quarrel with the selection of names, for on the list as a whole no two authorities would be likely wholly to agree; but they are all notable names, and names inseparable from that " forward move- ment " which Mr. Morse has consistently sought to trace. Taken as a whole, the series shows careful editorial supervision and uncommon re- straint, while in its clearness and accuracy of statement, its well-planned proportions, its avoidance of undue repetition and overlapping, and its distinct literary interest, its merits are not only everywhere apparent, but are in themselves decidedly notable.

No review of this edition would be complete without cordial refer- ence to the index volume prepared by Professor Theodore Clarke Smith. The index itself is in two parts -an index of names, and a topical index to the contents of the series. The latter, while not rivalling in its detail the index which a single volume would contain, has the advantage of bring- ing together, in the place where the inquirer would be likely to seek it, the material scattered through all the volumes. So far as we have tested it, its entries are accurate and its selection of topics adequate. Following the index is a select bibliography, also topically arranged, and giving lists of the most useful books for the further study of the men and events treated in the series. Mr. Morse, in a happily-worded preface, voices his appreciation of Professor Smith's service in thus giving unity and value to the entire work, and those who use the volumes will certainly echo his words. WILLIAM MACDONALD.

The Life and Letters of John Richard Green. Edited by LESLIE

STEPHEN. (New York: The Macmillan Co. 90oI. Pp. vii, 5 12.)

THE letters of the author of the Short History of the English People are full of that personal charm which constitutes the essential character- istic of an entertaining biography. His contagious enthusiasm, his wit, though sometimes conscious and forced,-his devotion to hard work, all are strongly brought out in the letters, and serve in combination to attract and hold attention, as well as his firm conviction that in giving his best to historical writing he was performing his best service to his fellows. But for students of history, the main interest is inevitably in Green's own opinions, as expressed in familiar letters, upon the purpose and method of his Short History. The " Little Book " as Green always called it, had its inception in an early plan to write a history of the Church of England, a plan soon set aside, but inevitably influencing the character of the work actually performed. Thus religion and church organization were ranked with literature and social forces as of prime importance in portraying the development of the English nation. Green's champion- ship of Freeman in the controversy with Froude, his expressed opinion that Froude had written " a history of England with England left out," increased his own tendency to depart from the customary grooves of historical writing, while his repeated sojourns in Italy resulted in the fixed belief that " drum and trumpet " histories for all countries must give way



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American Statesmenby John T. Morse